Step away from the Iditarod

I’ve always hated snowmobiles – at least, I have since encountering one racing all over a Seattle park after a heavy snow one day back around 1980. I know they have their uses, though, as long as the people using them aren’t mean bastards. But one snowmobiler is a very mean bastard.

One dog has been killed and multiple dogs have been injured by a snowmobiler in what appears to be an intentional attack on competitors in the Iditarod Race in Alaska.

Iditarod veteran Aliy Zirkle was the first to report an attack.

A snowmachiner had “repeatedly attempted to harm her and her team,” the Iditarod Trail Committee says, and one of Zirkle’s dogs had received a non-life-threatening injury.

Zirkle reported the attack when she arrived in Nulato, Alaska, in the wee hours of the morning, and race officials and law enforcement were notified.

Then Jeff King, a four-time Iditarod champion who was behind Zirkle, reported a similar encounter.

King’s team was hit by a snowmobiler, injuring several dogs and killing one — Nash, a 3-year-old male.

That’s a very mean bastard.

Zirkel went on with the race, leaving one dog behind. King said, “I’m not gonna let this schmuck take any more of the fun away.”

13 Responses to “Step away from the Iditarod”